EU Energy Ministers Back Total Phase Out of Russian Gas Imports by 2028

The council presidency will next start negotiations with the European Parliament before agreeing on the final text of the regulations.

Gas pipelines at the Atamanskaya compressor station facility of Gazprom's Power Of Siberia project outside the far eastern town of Svobodny, in Amur region, Russia, on Nov. 29, 2019. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Energy ministers in the Council of the European Union backed a proposal on Oct. 20 to phase out the import of Russian gas by 2028.

Ministers agreed that they would support phasing out new contracts for both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by Jan. 1, 2026, with there being a transition period for other existing contracts.